Maybe Not So Dark After All
by lightning-lion7
Summary: In an alternate universe, Harry has been exiled by his uncle, Lord Vernon. Now he goes out to find his father's friends or allies. Who will he meet on the way? What will he learn? Will he ever get Hedwig to stay put? Only the story will tell...
1. Chapter 1: Exile and Weasels

Lord Vernon was by far Sir Harry's least favorite person in the world. First, he murdered his brother-in-law, Harry's father, taking the lordship for himself. Second, he destroyed all of Harry's inherited possessions. Lastly, and most recently, he exiled Harry from his house at his coming of age so that his son could inherit the lordship after him, instead of the rightful heir, Harry.

Now Harry sat on the back of his white stallion, Hedwig, off to find the remaining allies of his father, Lord James. He had been travelling for three days throughout the region of Gryffin. His food was running out and he saw no houses anywhere near, only forest.

When night fell, he unpacked his belongings for the night and set up camp below a large oak tree.

"Well, Hedwig. I know it's not much, but it will have to do."

He had almost fallen asleep when the rain came. It poured in buckets. While, the tree was large, Harry knew that if he didn't find sufficient shelter, his armor would rust and he would freeze to death.

Hedwig had wandered off and despite how much he called her, she wouldn't return. He quickly strapped on his armor and sword, lifted his remaining belongings onto his back, and set off in a run down the forest path.

An hour later, he still didn't see any houses. However, there was a break in the forest and smoke coming from the clearing. He sighed in relief and trudged his way forward with the last bit of strength in his body.

Then he saw it, a large cottage in the remains of what was probably a small town. Now only the cottage remained with a border of stonewall around it. Quickly, Harry knocked on the door. Even though it was past midnight, a young man with fiery hair answered the door. Seeing Harry's condition, he ushered him inside to a fire.

Harry shivered and took off his armor and sword. He laid his shield next to him and began to warm himself. All of a sudden, a rather round woman bustled in carrying a bowl of soup.

Harry couldn't believe it. These people didn't even know his name, and yet they still took him in without a word.

As soon as he finished his soup, the woman sat down across from him with the young man. Another man, this one younger, had joined them. He had the same fiery hair as the other two.

"Thank you so much for taking me in. It's raining cats and dogs out there!"

"Oh no worries, dear!" the woman said, "Now tell us about yourself. Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you out so late in the pouring rain?"

All of a sudden, two more young men entered. They were identical to a fault, including the family trait of red hair. Harry doubted whether their own mother, probably the woman, could tell them apart.

"Well you see," Harry began, "My mother died giving birth to me, so I never knew her. My father was murdered by my uncle, his brother-in-law, when I was eleven. However, I was unable to do anything about it because I only had the training of an eleven year old. My uncle refused to train me in sword fighting or archery. The only thing he let me learn was horse back riding. A few days ago, when his son turned seventeen and came of age, he banished me so that his son could take the throne. I have been wandering with my horse, Hedwig, since then, looking for my father's old friends and allies."

"Oh you poor dear! Well, you're welcome here. I'm Molly. This is Percy," she pointed to the oldest son.

"I'm Frederick and this is George," said the twin on the left.

"And I'm Ronald. I couldn't help but notice you're shield. Is that yours?"

Harry examined his shield. Before now, he'd never given it much thought. It was his father's coat of arms before Lord Vernon changed it. The shield was simple: Red background with a golden lion getting struck by white lightning.

"Yes, it was my father's."

The twin on the right, George, asked, "What did you say your name was?"

"Sir Harry of Pottsville. I am the son of Lord James of Pottsville. He was one of the lords of Gryffin before my uncle took over."

The youngest son, Ronald stared at him. "Mum? Have you told Sir Harry who we are yet?"

"No dear, you see- "

However, she was interrupted by a side door slamming open. A red haired man entered. He must have been the father of the house. In his hand he held what looked like a book.

"Molly, I just finished my first one! Wait, who is our guest?"

"This is Sir Harry of Pottsville." With every word she tensed her lips and tilted her head.

"My lord, Sir Harry! How good to meet you! I'm Arthur. I knew your father a long time ago, back in the university. He became a knight and later took his father's place as lord. I on the other hand studied the making of books. But no matter, I'm droning. What brings you here?"

Harry recapped his story again, before Arthur took a shield off the wall.

"I doubt you recognize this Harry. It is our family's crest. Not that it means much anymore. You see, we are what used to be the lordship of Weaslia."

Harry did, in fact, recognize the shield. His father had always taught him a lot of history. The shield had a red background; the red means from Gryffin, and had a golden weasel; the gold meant a lord of Gryffin, and a green tree. This was a shield of lords, but these people weren't lords.

Arthur continued, "The Weaslian lordship was taken away by the general after the battle of Strawgo, when we refused to use our knights to continue an assault on the Notabobians once the retreated. Now we live in what remains of our town."

Harry was stricken by their story, but he dared not say anything. The room was silent. The only sound was a quiet patter-patter noise coming closer. A girl not much younger than Harry came into the sitting area.

"Mum, why didn't you tell me we had a guest?"

"This is our youngest," Arthur said, "He name is Ginevra."

"Dad! I told you, I go by Ginny," she muttered.

"Sir Harry?"

"Lady Molly, please call me Harry."

"Please call me Molly," she smiled, "Now I assume you will be staying the night. You can sleep in Ronald's room. He has an extra bed and you two must be the same age. Ronald came of age two months ago."

"Molly, that'd be great. Thanks."

Ronald led Harry to his room. Ginny walked slightly behind them and then ducked into her own room.

Ronald gestured to a bed. "Well, here you go. Sorry about my family. They mean well."

"No, they're much better than mine. My cousin is as round as a cannon. And ten times heavier."

Ronald laughed and then settled into his own bed. Harry lay down and closed his eyes. Soon he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of lions getting struck by lightning and a weasel going on a hunt for Hedwig.


	2. Chapter 2: On the Road Again

**Sorry it took so long!**

The next morning, he woke up to sound of sizzling. He changed clothes and went to the kitchen. Molly, Ginny, and Percy were eating breakfast. As soon as he entered, Molly handed him a bowl of porridge and sat him down at their table.

"Molly, thank you so much for your hospitality. I will be leaving as soon as I can pack up my belongings."

Molly looked shocked. "But Harry, where will you go? You have no home."

Harry was ready for this. He had been thinking about it this morning before he got up. "I was thinking I would visit Slyther. I believe my father had a good friend there. Maybe I will stop by Strawgo on the way."

Percy piped in, "I was just about to head to Strawgo myself. You see, I work for one of the king's advisors-"

"He tastes their food for poison."

"And takes their swords to get cleaned."

Fredrick and George had just entered and were now chuckling. Percy puffed out his chest and left the room indignantly. Harry stifled a laugh.

"Boys! That was rude! Anyway, Harry, you can't travel alone. I'm not sure if Percy will stay long enough to have you travel with him."

Ron stumbled in just then and said, "Morning. Heard people talking about Strawgo. Could I go? I am of age and most boys my age train for knighthood."

Molly looked as if she was going to cry. Then she ran and hugged Ron. Fredrick and George just smiled. Then they snuck off outside.

Within three hours, Percy was long gone, Harry had packed all of his things, and Ron had packed all of his things onto his horse Widgey. Fredrick and George waited outside with packages in their hands. Arthur had gone back to his printing press after saying a quick goodbye. Ginny was nowhere to be seen.

All of a sudden, Hedwig burst through the underbrush near the house. She stood next to Harry as if she'd never left. He packed his belongings on her then climbed up.

"Goodbye Ronald! Goodbye Harry! Be safe!"

They trotted off west towards Strawgo and away from the only land Harry had ever known.

A few minutes later, Harry was comfortably talking with Ronald, who it turns out, went by Ron. "…and my cousin, Dudley, is a fat lump who sits around all day eating. He carries a sword but only to threaten the servants to bring him food faster."

"You have servants?"

"Well, my parents never did, but once Vernon stole the lordship and had enough money, he bought some house-elves. When I was fourteen, I freed all of them, but they insisted on staying and working for a low wage. I think they felt bad for me. They always brought me extra food since my uncle wouldn't let me sit at the table with them."

"God, and I thought having five older brothers was bad."

"You have five? Unless, Frederick and George are actually quadruplets, I didn't count that many."

Ron laughed, "No, my oldest brother, William travels around working for Lord Grints searching old ruins for gold. The other one, Charles, works in far north Raveen with dragons."

"That sounds awesome! Hey, it's getting dark. Maybe we should set up camp for the night. I don't see any houses anywhere near here."

"Yeah sure. Our house is really secluded so there aren't any houses within a day's journey. We should be able to find a town tomorrow though."

Without much more talk, they tied up their horses, Harry didn't want Hedwig wandering off with all of his things, and went to bed.

Harry was closing his eyes and about to drift off when he heard footsteps much too light to be from a horse. While, he was a generally trusting person, the footsteps scared him a bit. However, they stopped as soon as he rolled over so he decided not to wake Ron. He was asleep in seconds.

**Next chapter:**

Harry's sword tip was at the man's throat, unwavering with the fear Harry felt.

"Who are you? Why were you following us?"

The mystery man took off his helmet revealing his face. Harry's sword dropped to his side in shock.


	3. Chapter 3: A Stranger in the Woods

The next morning, a soon as they had eaten breakfast, Harry and Ron got back on their horses and rode until they came upon a large hill. On the other side was a small town. It had a large house in the center with about six smaller houses surrounding it, all inside a high wooden fence.

"This is Long Bottomton. The owner of this town is one of the three lords of Gryffin," Ron said, "Maybe we could stop on top of this hill for lunch then go into town? I'm famished."

Harry consented; his stomach had started grumbling a few minutes earlier. He began unloading a side of lamb and some bread with cheese that Molly had packed him.

Ron yawned then stated, "I'm going to see if there's a river to refill my water pouch. I'll be back soon."

Harry nodded, sat, and began to eat. He tossed Hedwig and Widgey some of the staler bread, which they still enjoyed. All of a sudden, he heard a rustling behind him. There was another horse there chewing on the bread. Now, it wouldn't have been strange to see a lone horse except for the fact that this horse was completely saddled and had saddlebags still attached to it. Either the horse had run away or the owner was near.

Feeling like he was being watched, Harry stood and spun full circle. A short man in full armor, which was a good bit large for him, stood behind a tree. Harry drew his sword knowing right then that this was the noise he'd heard the previous night.

Harry's sword tip was at the man's throat, unwavering with the fear he felt.

"Who are you? Why were you following us?"

The mystery man had raised his hands in the air but now slowly took off his helmet revealing his face. Harry's sword dropped to his side in shock.

"G-Ginny? What are you doing here? Whose armor is that?" Harry yelped. In confusion, he sat down against a tree.

Ginny smiled a bit as she shook her fiery red hair out of the braid that had been hidden in the helmet. She slowly began taking off her armor, watching Harry for any signs of aggression. As she worked, Harry saw she wore men's clothing under her armor.

"Harry, you need to understand some things," Ginny began, "I can't stand staying at home all day. I want to be out in the action, doing archery and sword fighting. Or jousting. I want to be in the court of Strawgo, learning under the best tutors in the world."

"But why did you follow us? Where did you get all these things?"

Ginny seemed to blush a bit. "Mum never let me train at home so I knew I had to run away. I knew where she kept both of my dead uncles' armor, so I stole this armor from there. It was my uncle Fabian's. And this is my horse. Dad gave him to me when I was only twelve and I've learned to ride like a man. His name is Arnold."

Harry smoothed his jet-black hair back. He studied Ginny in a fascinated way. Finally, he spoke, "When did you plan on revealing yourself? Does Ron know? Won't your mum and dad notice?"

Ginny's warm, brown eyes shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I was hoping you wouldn't find out, but I had to stay close so you could lead me to Strawgo. Arnold ran off and I had to chase him. That's why I'm this close. Ron doesn't know, of course. He would have told Mum. As for them finding out, I don't know what will happen. Fredrick and George will cover for me. I told them. They gave me this special powder so I could escape in the first place."

She fished a small package from a pocket attached to her belt. Upon opening it, Harry saw a dark, grainy powder.

"It makes a temporary blackness. I threw it on the ground and ran to the stable where I had everything ready. All I had to do from there was ride a little bit into the woods until I could find you and follow you."

As if she had gotten a large weight off her chest, Ginny sat down too and seemed to relax. All her armor was piled next to her, along with a sword, shield, bow, and a quiver of arrows. She also had a short dagger still on her belt.

The shield wasn't one that Harry had seen thus far. It had the symbols of a Gryffin lord too. The background was red, there was a golden bird that looked like a raven, and a dark blue river underneath the bird.

"Is this the crest of your mother's family? Were they also lords of Gryffin?" Harry inquired.

"Yes, they were the lords of Prewett. Their male line died with my uncles in the battle of Strawgo, so the lordship was given to one of the king's captains, now lord of North McLaggen."

Suddenly, Harry heard a faint yelling. It was Ron.

"Harry? I'm almost back! Do you want to get water too?"

Ginny jerked to her feet. "Please don't tell him; he'll make me go back. From now on, I'll stay farther behind. Try and leave markers for me around where you will be sleeping."

She gathered all of her armor and placed it gently but quickly in the saddlebags on Arnold. Placing her foot in the stirrup, she swung into the saddle, and rode off just as Ron got to the top of the hill.

**Sorry its so short! Next chapter coming soon!**


End file.
